1 Timothy 6:6-7, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”
Contentment, the Bible exhorts the child of God to aim toward its goal, yet the ways of this present world war against the happiness and rest found in it. The world continually swamps the mind with its beyond reality pictures and videos to warp us into believing the true happiness in life is jumping to the other side of the pasture to find the greener grasses that so many are enjoying while living in its pleasures. But it’s all a mirage. Just as the wine ran out during the wedding at Cana in Galilee, those things promised by the world are short lived and will only leave the partaker in a state of more wanting. But the immature mind will continually chase the empty promises hoping to attain that which is always beyond reach and may be compared to a dog chasing its own tail only to never catch. Our study verse exhorts the contrary. The Apostle calls on the reader to find contentment in what they have and where they are in life. I find this quite amazing that this statement was made directly to a younger preacher of the gospel. I could easily understand the comment being one between a father and a teenage son or daughter, but the comment being from an older servant of God to a younger stirs our mind to the reasons why Paul thought this to be important, and moreover why the Lord inspired Paul to write these words in a letter to a younger servant of the Lord.
The word content, according to Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary of the English language, is about the rest and quietness of the mind in a current condition. From my observation, the word is dealing with a person being thankful to the Lord for what they have or where they are in laboring, without complaint, to please God. I think it’s important to be reminded that we are all exhorted by the Bible to grow in grace and labor to live a quiet and peaceful life while we labor to provide for our families, yet at the same time we are directed to aim toward a life of contentment and thankfulness while doing so.
Yet, the question still remains, Why did Paul write this in this letter to Timothy? I think the answer is found in a contrast of the carnal nature and what the man of God should be while serving the Lord. Let us consider three things:
(1) The servant of God needs to be an example for other children of God. Titus 2:7, “In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works:…” For the God called servant of the Lord to call on the hearers to obey God, he must first be seen obeying God himself. 1 Timothy 4:16, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine;…” I’ve heard this text illustrated as a person trying to eat food from a very dirty plate. If the man of God isn’t first adhering to the Lord’s commands, there will be little effect in his exhortations to others.
(2) The servant of God must be thankful for the field the Lord has called on him to serve and serve with diligence. If there’s anything my daddy, Elder Marvin Loudermilk taught me, it’s the fact that I need to serve God faithfully where the Lord would bless me to serve. Luke 19:17, “And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” According to the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 the servant of God must be faithful in what he’s been given in order to receive the blessings from the Lord in more. My daddy always exhorted me to be faithful in the vineyard where the Lord blessed me to serve and trust God to bless the labors.
(3) The servant of God must trust God, seek His glory and not his own. Seeking a higher status in life for ourselves does not glorify God. 2 Corinthians 4:5, “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves servants for Jesus’ sake.” When the servant of God is content in laboring where God has called him and works diligently to put Jesus and His kingdom first in his life, he pleases God and is a blessing to others. This blessed state is not something easily attained as the Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4;11, “Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
In conclusion, dear child, we are able to easily understand why Paul penned these words to the younger servant of God. And at the same time we are able to see how these words apply to every child of grace, especially those who desire to walk closer to the Lord. I did not come close to exhausting the subject or fully explaining this precious portion in God’s Holy Word, but I hope these words have stirred your heart toward wanting to know more about our God Who reigns in Glory above. So let us turn our eyes away from the plains of Jordan that tempted Lot and his family and turn our eyes toward the Lord who is able to do “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,..” Amen.